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Fløyen vs. Ulriken: Comparing Two Popular Mountains in Bergen, Norway

ByErin Burke Published on
Two pictures side by side. One is the view from mount Floyen where you can see the city center of Bergen and the fjord. One is from the top of Ulriken, where you can see the scrubby brush and the surrounding mountains.

If you’re traveling to Bergen, Norway, chances are you’ll find yourself up on top of one of their mountains at some point.

While Bergen is best known for being the gateway to the fjords, it also has some amazing mountains with incredible views of the city and surrounding areas. In fact, traveling up these mountains was one of my favorites things about our time in Bergen.

But if you have to choose one, which mountain should you choose when it comes to Fløyen vs. Ulriken?

While Ulriken has amazing views and is an incredible experience, I think that Fløyen is the more accessible experience for most travelers. But keep reading for the details on each one!

Mount Fløyen

Mount Fløyen is the easiest to access from the city center.

To get to the top you can either walk up to the top (it takes about an hour) or take the Fløibanen funicular. We took the funicular. A round-trip ticket costs 180 Norwegian Krone (about $17) and gets you to the top in less than 10 minutes.

You can also choose to take the funicular to the top and then walk down to the bottom. Or vice versa.

View from Mount Floyen where you can see the city center and the fjords on a sunny day
View from Mount Floyen

Once you’re on top of Mount Fløyen, you’ll find all kinds of amenities. The highlight is of course the large set of concrete stairs where you can observe the city view.

There’s also a restaurant, an ice cream stand, an excellent playground, and a huge area of forest to explore.

We LOVED the top of this mountain because it felt peak Scandinavian. We especially loved the Troll Forest play area, which had an amazing tree house and a zip line our kiddo spent a good amount of time on.

If you’re up for a hike, you can walk the short trail to get to lake Skomakerdiket. It’s about .25 miles long and is a perfect easy hike.

Honestly, we could have spent all day on top of Mount Fløyen and I was a little bummed when it was time to leave!

Multi story wooden fort playground structure that looks like a treehouse in the middle of a forest
Troll Forest play area on Mount Floyen

Mount Ulriken

Mount Ulriken is VERY different from Mount Fløyen.

First of all, getting there is a bit more of an undertaking. Ulriken is more outside the city center, so to get to the bottom of it you will likely have to take a bus.

We took the Number 5 bus to Haukeland sjukehus nord. From there you can walk about 10 minutes to the Ulriken643 cable car which you can take to the top of Ulriken.

The cable car is pricier than Fløyen too. A round-trip ticket costs 395 Norwegian Krone (about $37) for adults.

View of Bergen from the top of Mount Ulriken (not the city center though). You can also see the cable car gondola coming up the mountain.
View from Mount Ulriken

Of course, you can also choose to hike to the top, but this is even more challenging. It’s a pretty steep trail (although a lot of it is stairs) and it takes most hikers around 1.5 hours. (To do this, you’ll want to take the Number 12 bus to Montana.)

Once you’re at the top, there is not as much to do as there is on Mount Fløyen.

However, this is a higher mountain, so you’re going to get an entirely different experience. (It’s actually Bergen’s highest mountain!)

First of all, I could not get over the fact that from the top of Ulriken you can SEE ON TO THE TOP OF OTHER MOUNTAINS. It really felt like standing on top of the world, and I loved being able to even see mountaintop lakes on the surrounding mountains.

It’s also a much scrubbier landscape than the top of Fløyen. You won’t find a forest on Ulriken. Instead, you’ll have a straight light of sight all over the top of the mountain.

There is a lot of hiking you can do you here. The top of the mountain kind of dips into a flat section and then goes back up, and you can hike as much or as little of this as you want.

While there wasn’t as much to do here as there was on top of Mount Fløyen, it also felt like a more transcendent experience for me.

Me standing in front of a railing on a paved area on top of Mount Ulriken. Behind me you can see some people hiking, and beyond that the mountains and lakes of the surrounding area.
Me on top of Mount Ulriken

Hiking from Mount Fløyen to Mount Ulriken

If you want a full day adventure with both of these mountains, you can actually hike from Mount Fløyen to the top of Mount Ulriken on the Vidden trail!

The trail is 15 km (about 9 miles) long, and takes about 5 hours. Most hikers say it’s moderately difficult.

You’ll of course want to make sure you have all the right hiking and safety gear before you set out, because this is a LONG hike! And it can be muddy and rainy along the way.

Also, you should only attempt this in good weather! The rain and wind can be intense on top of the mountains.

While this isn’t something we did, going back to Bergen to experience this is definitely on my bucket list!

The scrubby top of Mount Ulriken. In the distance you can see some people hiking down a small hill.
Hiking on Mount Ulriken

Which Mountain Should You Visit?

While ideally you would of course visit both of these amazing mountains in Bergen, you may need to decide if you want to visit Mount Fløyen or Ulriken.

Here’s how I would decide:

Visit Mount Fløyen if:

  • You want a more convenient mountain visit
  • You want to soak in the forest
  • You’re looking for a fun place for kids to play.

Visit Mount Ulriken if:

  • You’re good with getting outside the city a bit
  • You can spend a bit more money to get to the top
  • You want something that feels a bit more “remote.”

BUT if you really pressed me and I had to pick one (and you’ve never been to Bergen before), I would say you should go up Mount Fløyen because it really just feels like a quintessential Bergen experience to me.

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Erin Burke is a travel writer and the founder of Flying Off the Bookshelf. She has been blogging for over 14 years, has visited countries and cities all over the world, and loves to share detailed-itineraries and travel tips to help readers have the best travel experiences possible. She lives in Huntsville, Alabama, is a Visit North Alabama Ambassador, and her features include NPR, MSN, Modern Mrs. Darcy, and more.